2014 District Accountability

Tennessee adopted a new accountability system in 2012, after securing a waiver from certain portions of No Child Left Behind. Under the new system, Tennessee looks to districts to increase achievement levels for all students and reduce achievement gaps that exist between certain groups.

Rather than expecting all districts to meet the same benchmarks year after year, the system acknowledges that districts are starting from different places and rewards those that show the most growth.

A brief description of the accountability measures and the 2013-14 designations can be found below.

Districts Designated as Exemplary

Exemplary Districts:

Meet the majority of their Achievement targets;
Meet majority of their Gap Closure targets;
Ensure every subgroup—Students with Disabilities, racial minorities, and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds—moves forward in a majority of its target areas.

These three requirements show that districts are raising proficiency levels, narrowing achievement gaps and guaranteeing growth for all students.

The following districts are designated as Exemplary for 2013-14:

Dyersburg
Lauderdale County
Richard City

Districts Designated as In Need of Improvement

Districts in need of improvement fail to reach the majority of their targets for both Achievement and Gap Closure.

These districts will meet in-person with department officials to set an aggressive, effective plan to meet the goals they missed the year prior.

The following districts are designated In Need of Improvement for 2013-14:

District	Reason(s)
Alamo	District made 2 of 4 achievement AMOs District made 1 of 6 gap closure AMOs
Benton County	District made 4 of 11 achievement AMOs
Bradley County	District made 5 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 5 of 14 gap closure AMOs
Campbell County	District made 4 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 0 of 9 gap closure AMOs
Clinton	District made 0 of 4 achievement AMOs District made 3 of 6 gap closure AMOs
Cocke County	District made 5 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 6 of 12 gap closure AMOs
Coffee County	District made 4 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 7 of 11 gap closure AMOs
Fayette County	District made 4 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 3 of 11 gap closure AMOs
Fayetteville	District made 5 of 10 achievement AMOs
Franklin City	District made 2 of 6 achievement AMOs District made 1 of 8 gap AMOs
Grundy County	District made 5 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 3 of 8 gap closure AMOs
Hawkins County	District made 5 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 2 of 11 gap closure AMOs
Lebanon	District made 3 of 6 achievement AMOs District made 3 of 8 gap closure AMOs
Manchester	District made 3 of 6 achievement AMOs District made 2 of 6 gap closure AMOs
McNairy County	District made 5 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 2 of 12 gap closure AMOs
Montgomery County	District made 4 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 7 of 14 gap closure AMOs
Morgan County	District made 4 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 3 of 8 gap closure AMOs
Murfreesboro	District made 1 of 4 achievement AMOs District made 2 of 8 gap closure AMOs
Newport	District made 2 of 6 achievement AMOs
Oak Ridge	District made 4 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 7 of 14 gap closure AMOs
Robertson County	District made 5 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 5 of 14 gap closure AMOs
Sullivan County	District made 5 of 11 achievement AMOs District made 6 of 12 gap closure AMOs
Sweetwater	District made 2 of 6 achievement AMOs District made 1 of 6 gap closure AMOs

Districts In Need of Subgroup Improvement

These districts:

May successfully attain their goals in Achievement, Gap Closure or even both, but experience declines among particular groups of students.
Focus efforts on ensuring all groups of students show improvement in the following year.

The following districts are designated In Need of Subgroup Improvement for 2013-14:

District	Subgroup(s) Needing Improvement
Alcoa	Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Alvin C. York Institute	Economically Disadvantaged
Athens	White Hispanic Black Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Bells	Hispanic Black
Bledsoe County	Economically Disadvantaged
Blount County	Students with Disabilities
Bristol	Hispanic Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Carter County	Students with Disabilities
Cheatham County	Hispanic
Chester County	Hispanic Economically Disadvantaged
Claiborne County	Students with Disabilities
Clay County	Students with Disabilities
Cleveland	White Hispanic Students with Disabilities English Language Learners
Crockett County	Students with Disabilities
Cumberland County	Students with Disabilities
Davidson County	Asian
Decatur County	Hispanic Black Students with Disabilities
DeKalb County	Hispanic Students with Disabilities English Language Learners
Dickson County	Students with Disabilities
Dyer County	White Hispanic Students with Disabilities
Elizabethton	Black Students with Disabilities
Fentress County	Students with Disabilities
Franklin County	Hispanic Black Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Giles County	Economically Disadvantaged
Grainger County	Students with Disabilities
Greeneville	Economically Disadvantaged
Hamblen County	White Black Asian Students with Disabilities
Hamilton County	Students with Disabilities English Language Learners
Hancock County	White
Hardeman County	Students with Disabilities
Hardin County	White Black Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Haywood County	Students with Disabilities
Henry County	Black Students with Disabilities
Hickman County	Black
Hollow Rock-Bruceton	Economically Disadvantaged
Houston County	White Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Humboldt	Black Economically Disadvantaged
Huntingdon	Black Students with Disabilities
Jackson County	White Students with Disabilities
Jackson-Madison County	White Hispanic Students with Disabilities
Jefferson County	Hispanic Black Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Johnson City	Students with Disabilities
Johnson County	White Students with Disabilities
Kingsport	Black
Knox County	White Hispanic Students with Disabilities English Language Learners
Lake County	Black Students with Disabilities
Lawrence County	Hispanic Black Students with Disabilities
Lenoir City	Hispanic
Lexington	Students with Disabilities
Lincoln County	White Economically Disadvantaged
Loudon County	Hispanic
Macon County	Students with Disabilities
Marion County	Students with Disabilities
Maury County	Asian English Language Learners
McKenzie	White Black Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
McMinn County	White Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Obion County	Hispanic Black
Oneida	Students with Disabilities
Perry County	Economically Disadvantaged
Pickett County	White Economically Disadvantaged
Putnam County	Hispanic Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities English Language Learners
Rhea County	Students with Disabilities
Rutherford County	White Black Asian Economically Disadvantaged English Language Learners
Sequatchie County	White Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Sevier County	Hispanic Asian Students with Disabilities English Language Learners
Shelby County	White Native American Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Smith County	White Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities
Stewart County	Economically Disadvantaged
Tipton	Hispanic Students with Disabilities
Trousdale	Students with Disabilities
Tullahoma	Students with Disabilities
Unicoi County	White Students with Disabilities
Warren County	White Students with Disabilities
Washington County	Hispanic
Wayne County	White Economically Disadvantaged
White County	Hispanic
Williamson County	Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Wilson County	Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities English Language Learners

Background

The Tennessee Department of Education secured a waiver from certain portions of the federal accountability law No Child Left Behind in 2012. This waiver allowed the state to continue to improve academically and meet its own growth goals, rather than the unrealistically high proficiency cutoffs set by the federal government.

Tennessee’s Accountability System

Tennessee created its own accountability system that replaces No Child Left Behind’s accountability measures, called Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP. The system also aligns with the state’s goal of becoming the fastest-improving in the nation.

Rather than expecting all schools to meet certain proficiency targets, the new system focuses on growth and improvement, recognizing that schools are starting from various levels of proficiency.
The system requires a focus on ensuring growth for all students every year and closing achievement gaps by ensuring faster growth for those students who are furthest behind.
Unlike No Child Left Behind, which was primarily focused on accountability at the school level, Tennessee’s accountability system positions districts as key points of action to help schools improve.
To assist districts in growing their overall achievement and narrowing gaps, the state’s Centers of Regional Excellence, or CORE offices, are equipped with data specialists, content specialists, and support staff. These centers help districts learn from each other and target their intervention to the subjects and student populations that need it the most.

District Level Accountability

Districts reach Exemplary status if they:

Meet the majority of their achievement goals,
Meet majority of their goals to close achievement gaps, and
Ensure every subgroup—students with disabilities, racial minorities, English learners and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds—also moves forward in a majority of its target areas.

These three requirements show that districts are raising proficiency levels, narrowing achievement gaps, and guaranteeing growth for all students.

Districts that fail to reach the majority of their targets for both achievement and gap closure are In Need of Improvement. These districts will meet in-person with department officials to set an aggressive, effective plan to meet the goals they missed the year prior.

Districts may successfully attain their goals in achievement, gap closure, or even both, while experiencing declines among particular groups of students. These districts are designated In Need of Subgroup Improvement and will focus efforts on ensuring all groups of students show improvement in the following year.